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Bumpdate: 10 Weeks

Moving forward, I’ll be doing these updates bi-weekly and with a little questionnaire thing that’s fun (for me). I meant to do this last time with Natalie but only ended up writing like 3 pregnancy updates, which I sorely regret.

How far along? 10 weeks.Total weight gain/loss? None of yo’ dang business. But seriously, since every woman and every pregnancy is different, I don’t think posting my weight is super helpful to anyone and I won’t be doing it.Maternity clothes? Heck yes! Maternity pants, at least. All my regular shirts are fine but my non-maternity pants are super uncomfortable. Except for sweatpants, which I wear far more often than I should probably admit. I know it’s early but I feel sick when I try to shoehorn myself into my old skinny jeans.Stretch marks? Nope. I didn’t get any with Natalie and I’m hoping that will be the case this time around, too. Thanks for the awesome genes, Mom!Sleep? Not the best but not the worst. I’ve been waking up pretty regularly around 3-4 a.m. to pee, and some nights it takes me an hour to go back to sleep. Also? CRAZY BIZARRE PREGNANCY DREAMS. Super vivid, super weird, most of which fade away a moment after I wake up. But the ones I remember make me question my own mental health.Best moment this week? Hearing H2’s heartbeat, hands down. A close second was announcing the pregnancy to the rest of our family. Lots of SQUEEEEE-ing and big smiles all around. Babies are the best.Miss Anything? Coffee. Kind of. I’m avoiding it because the thought and smell of it makes me queasy, not because of concerns about caffeine. So really it’s the idea of coffee that I miss, since having one cup a day with breakfast was one of my morning rituals before I got pregnant.Movement? Nope, way too early for that.Food cravings? YES. My cravings change daily but when the thought of something delicious enters my head, I can’t shake it. I’ve never experienced cravings that are this strong before for anything in my life. But usually, through some kind of sick cosmic joke, if I can get my shaky little paws on what I’m craving, I take three bites and then it’s the WORST THING EVER. I don’t dare indulge the cravings any more because I feel like I’m systematically ruining my own favorite foods for myself.Anything making you queasy or sick? Feeding the cats their wet food. I start gagging as soon as I open the can.Have you started to show yet? Technically no, since H2 is the size of a prune or a kumquat right now (depending on what app you’re looking at). That being said, I am definitely starting to look pregnant and (especially at the end of the day) look like I’m at least a month further along.Gender? Unknown til the bitter end! We will not be finding out.Belly Button in or out? Um, neither? It’s kind of flat. Pregnancy is weird.Wedding rings on or off? On.Happy or Moody most of the time? Mostly happy this week. Crazy mood swings have slowed down a bit.Looking forward to? Christmas! …and also Christmas being overwith. It’s a fun time but it’s also rather hectic and stressful.

Double digits! Baby 25% loaded! ….aaaaaaand nothing feels any different. I look at my pregnancy apps (I like Ovia and The Bump) and think “oh, that’s cool.” Much calmer than last time around, when every week was JUST! SO! EXCITING! Baby is the size of an OLIVE right now, CAN YOU EVEN HANDLE IT?!?!

Obviously I couldn’t. That level of engagement with your own pregnancy just isn’t sustainable.

One thing that will ALWAYS be exciting, though, is hearing the heartbeat for the first time — which we did this week! We met with our midwife on Thursday and it was like one big happy reunion. We brought Natalie with us, and Heidi (our midwife) gave all of us a great big hug, remembered details of our lives from last time around, and was just completely, 100% thrilled to see us all.

And THAT is why I never want to be under anyone else’s care. My PCP knows literally nothing about me, remembers nothing, and will probably never ever know my name without reading it on my chart first. But Heidi? Heidi remembers and she cares and she’s exactly the right blend of maternal warmth and no-nonsense straight talk.

So yes, Heidi is awesome and the baby (nickname needed! Working nickname is “H2” which is kind of awful) is awesome, with a nice, strong, fast heartbeat. At just shy of 10 weeks Heidi wasn’t totally sure she’d be able to pick up the heartbeat on the Doppler, but she found it within a minute. That sound, man….that whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh brought tears to my eyes.

Congratulations, you didn’t imagine this whole pregnancy!

Heidi asked me if I was sure about the date of my last period, since my uterus is currently sitting higher than she’d expect for 10 weeks – like, about an inch. It’s already above my pubic bone, which typically doesn’t happen til 12+ weeks. That’s a big difference. I am certain, though, and there’s no way I can be any further along than 10 weeks, seeing as I took a pregnancy test that came back negative just a few days before I got the positive test. This is my second pregnancy so that is most likely what accounts for the discrepancy.

But now I’m all AHHH IT’S TWINS!!11!!1!.

[breathes into paper bag]

There’s no reason to think that. I have no family history and I have none of the factors that can increase your odds of having twins (mainly advanced maternal age, which….no. WHY HOW OLD DO YOU THINK I AM??) But man I just can’t shake this fear of there being more than one baby in there. Heidi only heard one heartbeat with the Doppler, so the odds of there being a sneaky second baby are so incredibly low.

That doesn’t mean I won’t be in a semi-freakout from now until our first ultrasound, though. We’re waiting to hear back from the hospital about when it’s going to be, but probably will be scheduled for right around the 1st of the year.